The Association of Violence and Depression in a Sample of Young Offenders

Genetic, Maternal, School, Intelligence, and Media Use Predictors of Adult Criminality: A Longitudinal Test of the Catalyst Model in Adolescence through Early Adulthood

“…Not surprisingly, scholars have sought explanations both for the crime spike of the 1960s to the 1990s, as well as for the subsequent precipitous (and unexpected) decline. The crime wave of the 1960s through 1990s had been explained through racial tensions (Becker, 1968), mental health problems among youth (Anthony, 1968), increased dangerousness of mental health patients themselves (Cocozza, Melick, & Steadman, 1978), increasing population density (Spector, 1975), a purported belief in the rise of so-called juvenile "superpredators" (see Muschert, 2007), and the introduction of television (Centerwall, 1989). The subsequent decline in crime since the 1990s has generated almost as many speculative explanations, ranging from improved policing (Messner et al, 2007) to the Roe v. Wade theory, which speculates that the legalization of abortion resulted in the birth (or raising) of fewer antisocial children (Levitt & Dubner, 2005).…”

Parental loss, depression and violence: III. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF FEMALE PRISONERS

“…The role of depression in crime, particularly violent crime, is also an unresolved issue. Some investigators have reported that depressed subjects sometimes commit violent crimes ( West (1966), Anthony (1968) while other investigators have denied such an association ( Bibring (1953)). …”